Quality of Work Life

Quality of Work Life.
“QUALITY OF WORK LIFE”
I have undertaken the project on “Quality of Work Life” as a part of the

curriculum of the Vth Semester. The main reason I took up this project is to learn how
different work life situations affect employees in their working styles.
The main intent / aim of doing this project is to understand what good quality
work life means to employees and how it affects the companies. The project helps me to
understand how a company’s HR Department try to improve their business by keeping
good relations with employees. It helps to understand how good working conditions help
employees to work more efficiently. ‘Quality Work Life’ emphasises on how an
employee and employer should keep a proper balance between their work and family. It
emphasises how people can keep balance by making their work timings flexible.
QWL basically is all about employee involvement, which consists of methods to

motivate employees to participate in decision making. This helps in building good
relationships. The project gives emphasis on use of quality circles by companies like
Motorola, which helps in solving many quality and people related problems.
This project is a means to appreciate the nitty-gritty involved in employee’s

relationship with their organisation and employers. It helps me understand how
organisations keep constant check of health and safety so as to run their business
smoothly.
Last but not the least, this project, shows through case studies how TATA
organisations take care of the working environment, so as to keep their employees and
other associates happy.
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CONTENTS
PART I (Pg. 9-68) Page No.

CHAPTER I 10-21
WHAT IS QUALITY OF WORK LIFE? (QWL)
CHAPTER II 22-28
QWL AS AN HR STRATEGY –AN ANALYSIS
CHAPTER III 29-35
QWL THE HUMAN IMPLICATIONS
CHAPTER IV 36-37
QWL THROUGH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT (EI)
CHAPTER V 38-41
QWL and EI INTERVENTION
CHAPTER VI 42-46
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PRACTICES
CHAPTER VII 47-52
EMPLOYEE HEALTH
CHAPTER VIII 53-60
WORK LIFE BALANCE
CHAPTER IX 61-68
HAPPINESS AT WORK PLACE
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PART II (Pg. 69-80)

CASE STUDY (TATA) 70 -77
QUESTIONNAIRE 78-79
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBLIOGRAPHY 80
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1.1 A Rationale
1.2 Forces for Change
1.3 Humanised Work through QWL
1.4 Job Enlargement vs. Job Enrichment
1.5 Applying Job Enrichment
1.6 Core Dimensions: A Job Characteristics Approach
1.7 The Human Resource Department’s Role
1.8 Motivation
1.9 Job Satisfaction
1.10 Rewards Satisfaction and Performance
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[1] WHAT IS QWL?
The term refers to the favourableness or unfavourableness of a total job

environment for people. QWL programs are another way in which organisations
recognise their responsibility to develop jobs and working conditions that are excellent
for people as well as for economic health of the organisation. The elements in a typical
QWL program include – open communications, equitable reward systems, a concern for
employee job security and satisfying careers and participation in decision making. Many
early QWL efforts focus on job enrichment. In addition to improving the work system,
QWL programs usually emphasise development of employee skills, the reduction of
occupational stress and the development of more co-operative labour-management
relations.
Vigorous Domestic and International competition drive organisations to be more

productive. Proactive managers and human resource departments respond to this
challenge by finding new ways to improve productivity. Some strategies rely heavily
upon new capital investment and technology. Others seek changes in employee relations
practices.
Human resource departments are involved with efforts to improve productivity

through changes in employee relations. QWL means having good supervision, good
working conditions, good pay and benefits and an interesting, challenging and rewarding
job. High QWL is sought through an employee relations philosophy that encourages the
use of QWL efforts, which are systematic attempts by an organisation to give workers
greater opportunities to affect their jobs and their contributions to the organisation’s
overall effectiveness. That is, a proactive human resource department finds ways to
empower employees so that they draw on their “brains and wits,” usually by getting the
employees more involved in the decision-making process.
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1.1 A Rationale
Job specialisation and simplification were popular in the early part of this century.
Employees were assigned narrow jobs and supported by a rigid hierarchy in the
expectation that efficiency would improve. The idea was to lower cost by using unskilled
workers who could be easily trained to do a small, repetitive part of each job.
Many difficulties developed from that classical job design, however. There was excessive
division of labour. Workers became socially isolated from their co-workers because their
highly specialised jobs weakened their community of interest in the whole product. De-
skilled workers lost pride in their work and became bored with their jobs. Higher-order
(social and growth) needs were left unsatisfied. The result was higher turnover and
absenteeism, declines in quality and alienated workers. Conflict often arose as workers
sought to improve their conditions and organisations failed to respond appropriately. The
real cause was that in many instances the job itself simply was not satisfying.
1.2 Forces for Change

A factor contributing to the problem was that the workers themselves were
changing. They became educated, more affluent (partly because of the effectiveness of
classical job design), and more independent. They began reaching for higher-order needs,
something more than merely earning their bread. Employers now had two reasons for re-
designing jobs and organisations for a better QWL:
 Classical design originally gave inadequate attention to human needs.
 The needs and aspirations of workers themselves were changing.
1.3 Humanised Work through QWL

One option was to re-design jobs to have the attributes desired by people, and re-
design organisations to have the environment desired by the people. This approach seeks
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to improve QWL. There is a need to give workers more of a challenge, more of a whole
task, more opportunity to use their ideas. Close attention to QWL provides a more
humanised work environment. It attempts to serve the higher-order needs of workers as
well as their more basic needs. It seeks to employ the higher skills of workers and to
provide an environment that encourages them to improve their skills. The idea is that
human resources should be developed and not simply used. Further, the work should not
have excessively negative conditions. It should not put workers under undue stress. It
should not damage or degrade their humanness. It should not be threatening or unduly
dangerous. Finally, it should contribute to, or at least leave unimpaired, workers’ abilities
to perform in other life roles, such as citizen, spouse and parent. That is, work should
contribute to general social advancement.
1.4 Job Enlargement vs. Job Enrichment

The modern interest in quality of work life was stimulated through efforts to
change the scope of people’s jobs in attempting to motivate them. Job scope has two
dimensions – breadth and depth. Job breadth is the number of different tasks an
individual is directly responsible for. It ranges from very narrow (one task performed
repetitively) to wide (several tasks). Employees with narrow job breadth were sometimes
given a wider variety of duties in order to reduce their monotony; this process is called
job enlargement. In order to perform these additional duties, employees spend less time
on each duty. Another approach to changing job breadth is job rotation, which involves
periodic assignment of an employee to completely different sets of job activities. Job
rotation is an effective way to develop multiple skills in employees, which benefits the
organisation while creating greater job interest and career options for the employee.
Job enrichment takes a different approach by adding additional motivators to a

job to make it more rewarding. It was developed by Frederick Herzberg on the basis of
his studies indicating that the most effective way to motivate workers was by focusing on
higher-order needs. Job enrichment seeks to add depth to a job by giving workers more
control, responsibility and discretion over hoe their job is performed. The difference
between enlargement and enrichment is illustrated in the figure on the next page.
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Difference between job enrichment and job enlargement
Job enrichment Jon enrichment and Higher-order

enlargement
Routine job Job enlargement Lower-order
Few Many
Number of tasks
(Focus on Breadth)
In the above figure we see that job enrichment focuses on satisfying higher-order
needs, while job enlargement concentrates on adding additional tasks to the worker’s job
for greater variety. The two approaches can even be blended, by both expanding the
number of tasks and adding more motivators, for a two-pronged attempt to improve
QWL.
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Job enrichment brings benefits, as shown in the below figure.
Benefits of job enrichment emerge in three areas
Individual:
• Growth
• Self-
actualisation
Organisation:
• Intrinsically
JOB motivated
ENRICHMENT employees
BENEFITS • Better employee
performance
• Less absenteeism
and turnover;
fewer grievances
Society:
• Full use of
human
resources
• More effective
organisations
Its general result is a role enrichment that encourages growth and self-
actualisation. The job is built in such a way that intrinsic motivation is encouraged.
Because motivation is increased, performance should improve, thus providing both a
more humanised and a more productive job. Negative effects also tend to be reduced,
such as turnover, absences, grievances and idle time. In this manner both the worker and
society benefit. The worker performs better, experiences greater job satisfaction and
becomes more self-actualised, thus being able to participate in all life roles more
effectively. Society benefits from the more effectively functioning person as well as from
better job performance.
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1.5 Applying Job Enrichment

Viewed in terms of Herzberg’s motivational factors, job enrichment occurs when
the work itself is more challenging, when achievement is encouraged, when there is
opportunity for growth and when responsibility, feedback and recognition are provided.
However, employees are the final judges of what enriches their jobs. All that
management can do is gather information about what tend to enrich jobs, try those
changes in the job system and then determine whether employees feel that enrichment
has occurred.
In trying to build motivational factors, management also gives attention to

maintenance factors. It attempts to keep maintenance factors constant or higher as the
motivational factors are increased. If maintenance factors are allowed to decline during
an enrichment program, then employees may be less responsive to the enrichment
program because they are distracted by inadequate maintenance. The need for a systems
approach in job enrichment is satisfied by the practice of gain sharing.
Since hob enrichment must occur from each employee’s personal viewpoint, not
all employees will choose enriched jobs if they have an option. A contingency
relationship exists in terms of different job needs, and some employees prefer the
simplicity and security of more routine jobs.
In one instance a manufacturer set up production in two different ways.

Employees were allowed to choose between work on a standard assembly
line and at a bench where they individually assembled the entire product.
In the beginning few employees chose to work at the enriched jobs, but
gradually about half the workers chose them the more routine assembly
operation seemed to fit the needs of the other half.
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1.6 Core Dimensions: A Job Characteristics Approach

How can jobs be enriched? And how does job enrichment produce its desired
outcomes? J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham have developed a job characteristics
approach to job enrichment that identifies five core dimensions – skill variety, task
identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. Ideally, a job must have all five
dimensions to be fully enriched. If one dimension is perceived to be missing, workers are
psychologically deprived and motivation may be reduced.
The core dimensions affect an employee’s psychological state, which tends to

improve performance, satisfaction and quality of work and to reduce turnover and
absenteeism. Their effect on quantity of work is less dependable. Many managerial and
white-collar jobs, as well as blue-collar jobs, often are deficient in some core dimensions.
Although there are large individual differences in how employees react to core
dimensions, the typical employee finds them to be basic for internal motivation. The
dimensions and their effects are shown in the following figure and discussed in greater
detail here.
1.7 The Human Resource Department’s Role

The role of human resource department in QWL efforts varies widely. In some
organisations, top management appoints an executive to ensure that QWL and
productivity efforts occur throughout the organisation. In most cases, these executives
have a small staff and must rely on the human resource department for help with
employee training, communications, attitude survey feedback, and similar assistance. In
other organisations, the department is responsible for initiating and directing the firm’s
QWL and productivity efforts.
Perhaps the most crucial role of the department is winning the support of key
managers. Management support – particularly top management support appears to be an
almost universal prerequisite for successful QWL programs. By substantiating employee
satisfaction and bottom-line benefits, which range from lower absenteeism and turnover
to higher productivity and fewer accidents, the department can help convince doubting
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managers. Sometimes documentation of QWL can result from studies of performance

before and after a QWL effort. Without documentation of these results, top management
might not have continued its strong support.
The department also has both a direct and indirect influence on employee
motivation and satisfaction.
Satisfaction
Direct
Q
Orientation U
A
Training and L
I
Development T
Y
Career Planning O
F
Counselling W Supervisor Employee
Human O
Resource R
K
Department Indirect L
I
Safety and F
E
Health policies
Compensation practices
Other policies and
practices
Motivation
As the above figure illustrates, the department makes direct contact with
employees and supervisors through orientation, training and development, career
planning, and counselling activities. At the same time, these activities may help a
supervisor do a better job of motivating employees.
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The policies and practices of the department also influence motivation and
satisfaction indirectly. Rigorous enforced safety and health programs, for example, can
give employees and supervisors a greater sense of safety from accidents and industrial
health hazards. Likewise, compensation policies may motivate and satisfy employees
through incentive plans, or they may harm motivation and satisfaction through
insufficient raises or outright salary freezes. The motivation and satisfaction of
employees act as feedback on the organisation’s QWL and on the department’s day-to-
day activities.
1.8 Motivation
Motivation is a complex subject. It involves the unique feelings, thoughts and past
experiences of each of us as we share a variety of relationships within and outside
organisations. To expect a single motivational approach work in every situation is
probably unrealistic. In fact, even theorists and researches take different points of view
about motivation. Nevertheless, motivation can be defined as a person’s drive to take an
action because that person wants to do so. People act because they feel that they have to.
However, if they are motivated they make the positive choice to act for a purpose –
because, for example, it may satisfy some of their needs.
1.9 Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is the favourableness or unfavourableness with which employees
view their work. As with motivation, it is affected by the environment. Job satisfaction is
impacted by job design. Jobs that are rich in positive behavioural elements – such as
autonomy, variety, task identity, task significance and feedback contribute to employee’s
satisfaction. Likewise, orientation is important because the employee’s acceptance by the
work group contributes to satisfaction. In sort, each element of the environmental system,
can add to, or detract from, job satisfaction.
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1.10 Rewards Satisfaction and Performance

A basic issue is whether satisfaction leads to better performance, or whether better
performance leads to satisfaction. Which comes first? The reason for this apparent
uncertainty about the relationship between performance and satisfaction is that rewards
intervene as shown in the figure below.
A Reward Performance Model of Motivation

Rewards
Reinforcement
 Job
itself
 Sm
Performance all groups Satisfaction
 Org
employee
Motivation Self-image
Inner drives S -esteem
Self-expectation
Needs and Desire
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Whether satisfaction is going to be improved depends on whether the rewards

match the expectations, needs and desires of the employee as shown at the bottom of the
above figure. If better performance leads to higher rewards and if these rewards are seen
as fair and equitable, then results in improved satisfaction. On the other hand, inadequate
rewards can lead to dissatisfaction. In either case, satisfaction becomes feedback that
affects one’s self-image and motivation to perform. The total performance-satisfaction
relationship is a continuous system, making it difficult to assess the impact of satisfaction
on motivation or on performance, and vice-versa.
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2.1 Strategy and Tactics

2.2 Men Counted
2.3 Money Matters
2.4 Non economic – ‘Job Security’
2.5 Teamwork
2.6 Boss Factor
2.7 Involvement and Communication
2.8 Influences
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[2] QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AS HR STRATEGY –

AN ANALYSIS
Today’s workforce consists of literate workers who expect more than just
money from their work.
In the modern scenario, QWL as a strategy of Human Resource Management is

being recognised as the ultimate key for development among all the work systems, not
merely as a concession. This is integral to any organisation towards its wholesome
growth. This is attempted on par with strategies of Customer Relation Management.
2.1 Strategy and Tactics

Over the years, since industrial revolution, much experimentation has gone into
exploiting potential of human capital in work areas either explicitly or implicitly. Thanks
to the revolution in advanced technology, the imperative need to look into QWL in a new
perspective is felt and deliberated upon. Major companies are tirelessly implementing this
paradigm in Human Resources Development (some call it People’s Excellence).
Globalisation has lowered national boundaries, creating a knowledge-based

economy that spins and spans the world. Major economies are converging
technologically and economically, and are highly connected at present moment. The new
global workplace demands certain prerequisites such as higher order of thinking skills
like abstraction system thinking and experimental inquiry, problem-solving and team
work. The needs are greater in the new systems, which are participative ventures
involving workers managed by so-called fictional proprietors.
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2.2 Men Counted

In simple terms, all the above requirements can be easily achieved by providing
improved quality of work life to the workers available on rolls. Workers are often
referred to as teams or groups in general parlance and whatever the do go to the credit of
the teamwork.
The concept of teamwork has evolved from the organised toil that has its own
social dimensions. Good teams can hardly be imported from outside. They usually occur
as an indigenous incidence at the workplace and nurturing the same over time is the
responsibility of management. Here, it may also be discerned that the composition of
available workers in no more a local phenomenon as in the past. Mobility is caused by
migration beyond culture barriers and isolation, relocation and globalised deployment.
This phenomenon has become universal and is causing great changes in the work
environment at factories as well as offices. The new influx of skilled workers seeking
greener pastures is even questioning the skills of new employers and thereby
restructuring the new environs on par with those of best in the world, unwittingly though.
2.3 Money Matters

For good QWL, cash is not the only answer. Today, the workers are aware of the
job requirements of job as also the fact that the performance of the same is measured
against the basic goals and objectives of the organisation and more importantly, wages
are paid according to the larger picture specific to the industry and the employer’s place
in the same.
The increased share of workers in wages and benefits through legislation as well
as competitive interplay of superior managements in various fields of industry and
business on extensive levels has reshaped the worker’s idea of quality of work life.
Moreover, other things being equal, the employers are increasingly vying with their rivals
in providing better working conditions and emoluments. This may be owing to many
reasons besides the concern for the human angle of workers, like the employer’s tendency
to climb on the bandwagon, to reap to the desired dividends or to woo better talent into
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their fold as skill base addition and other non-economic inputs like knowledge bases.
Doubtlessly, the increased tendency of recruiting knowledge bases is giving the modern
managements payoffs in myriad ways. Some of them are intended potentials for product
innovations and cost cuttings. Talking of product, it may appear far-fetched to some that
product is being assessed in the market for its quality and price by the environment
created in the areas where workers and customers are dealt and transact, like ambience in
facilities / amenities as also the company’s pay scales. This goes to prove that QWL of
manufacturer / service provider is synonymous with the quality of product.
2.4 Non economic – ‘Job Security’

The changing workforce consists of literate workers who expect more than just
money from their work life. Their idea of salvation lies in the respect they obtain in the
work environment, like how they are individually dealt and communicated with by other
members in the team as well as the employer, what kind of work he is entrusted with, etc.
Some of these non-economic aspect are: Self respect, satisfaction, recognition, merit
compensation in job allocation, incompatibility of work conditions affecting health,
bullying by older peers and boss, physical constraints like distance to work, lack of
flexible working hours, work-life imbalances, invasion of privacy in case of certain
cultural groups and gender discrimination and drug addiction. One or more of the
problems like above can cast a ‘job-insecurity’ question, for no direct and visible fault of
the employer. Yet, the employer has to identify the source of workers problems and try
to mitigate the conditions and take supportive steps in the organisation so that the
workers will be easily retained and motivated and earn ROI. The loss of man-hours to
the national income due to the above factors is simply overwhelming.
Employer should instill in the worker the feeling of trust and confidence by
creating appropriate channels and systems to alleviate the above shortcomings so that the
workers use their best mental faculties on the achievement of goals and objectives of the
employer.
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To cite some examples, employers in certain software companies have provided

infrastructure to train the children of workers in vocational activities including computer
education, so that the workers need not engage their attention on this aspect. Employee
care initiatives taken by certain companies include creation of Hobby clubs, Fun and
Leisure Clubs for the physical and psychological well-beingness of workers and their
families. After all, the workers are inexorably linked to the welfare of their families, as it
is their primary concern.
Dual income workers, meaning both spouses working are the order of the day.
The work life balance differs in this category and greater understanding and flexibility
are required with respect to leave, compensation and working hours in the larger
framework.
2.5 Teamwork
Teamwork is the new mantra of modern day people’s excellence strategy.
Today’s teams are self-propelled ones. The modern manager has to strive at the group
coherence for common cause of the project. The ideal team has wider discretion and
sense of responsibility than before as how best to go about with its business. Here, each
member can find a new sense of belonging to each other in the unit and concentrate on
the group’s new responsibility towards employer’s goals. This will boost the coziness
and morale of members in the positive environment created by each other’s trust.
Positive energies, free of workplace anxiety, will garner better working results.
Involvement in teamwork deters deserters and employer need not bother himself over the
detention exercises and save money on motivation and campaigns.
2.6 Boss Factor

Gone are the days when employers controlled workers by suppressing the
initiative and independence by berating their brilliance and skills, by designing and
entrusting arduous and monotonous jobs and offer mere sops in terms of wages and
weekly off. Trust develops when managers pay some attention to the welfare of the
workers and treat them well by being honest in their relations. The employer should keep
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in mind that every unpaid hour of overtime the worker spends on work is an hour less
spent with the family.
New performance appraisals are put into vogue to assess a worker’s contribution
vis-à-vis on employer’s objectives and to find out the training and updating needs and
levels of motivation and commitment. As observed in some advanced companies, the
workers themselves are drawing their benefits by filing appraisal forms and drawing
simultaneously the appropriate benefits by the click of the mouse directly from their
drawing rooms, courtesy e-HR systems. In addition, there are quite a number of channels
for informal reviews. Feedback on worker’s performance, if well interpreted and
analysed, could go a long way in improving ethics at workplace.
2.7 Involvement and Communication

Multi-skilling and exposing workers to different lines of activity in the unit
indirectly leads to the greater involvement and better job security of worker in the
organisation. The employer too, can make use of the varied skills to any altered
situations of restructuring and other market adaptations. Thus, the monotony of work life
can be alleviated. The employer, armed with the depth of cross-trained human resources,
need not go hunting for new talent and thus save on the unspent pay packets, which can
be spent usefully on the amenities for workers. No doubt, rivals should be envying him
for this edge.
The change should be apparent in mutual trust and confidence towards effective
understanding of the needs of worker and employer. The new knowledge-based workers
are mostly young in the fields of technology and management. They are more
forthcoming in trusting the boss and older peers. Now, all modern managements are
cognisant of the innate desire of workers to be accepted as part of the organisation for
identity and other social reasons.
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Effective dialogue is put into play between management and those who execute
through well-organised communication channels paving the way for improved co-
operation and participation on emotional level. The decision making level is nose diving
to the floor level manager, where the poor guy has to think of n number of quick
decisions on behalf of the organisation. Unless the team is behind and involved with
commitment, the manager cannot implement the new tasks in production, distribution,
peoples excellence, customer relations, etc., thanks to the ‘e’ factor prefixed to the names
of majority of departments. Logically, harmony plays its part in cost efficiency.
Successful managers are those who listen to their workers.
2.8 Influences
Overwork is tolerated in emerging industries unlike government departments as
part of the game and work culture. This is so, what with the soaring competition among
the tightly contested players. The point is empowerment of workforce in the area of
involvement.
All said and one, the workers are considered as the invisible branch ambassadors
and internal customers in certain industries. It is evident that most of the managements
are increasingly realising that quality alone stands to gain in the ultimate analysis.
Restructuring the industrial relations in work area is the key for improving the quality of
product and the price of the stock. Without creating supportive environment in
restructured environment, higher quality of work cannot be extracted. It is already high
time the older theories of industrial relations should be unlearnt.
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3.1 The human factor in rewarding employees
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[3] QUALITY OF WORK LIFE – THE HUMAN

IMPLICATIONS
“One cannot do right in one area of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong
in another. Life is one invisible whole” – Mahatma Gandhi
How true and difficult is to paraphrase the profound truth contained in the words
of one of the greatest human beings of the modern world. The harsh reality of modern life
is that Quality of Work Life (QWL) has taken a beating because most of us are working
harder than ever. On average people in the developed countries spend an astonishing 14
to 15 hours a day against the accepted 8 to 9 hours. What is very disturbing is that the
trend is on the rise. Burn out; stress leading to health hazards is the natural offshoot. The
concept of lifetime employment or job security through hard work has been on a decline
since more and more people are on short-term contracts and lack security of long-term
employment.
Although traditional work structures seem to be dissolving, this hasn’t necessarily

resulted in more flexibility for the workers. Employers, by and large, are still reluctant to
absorb employees on a permanent basis before they have ‘proved their worth’. The
psychological pressure on the employee is tremendous and their lives are characterised by
a pronounced conflict between professional and private lives. Lesser employees doing
greater work make the work monotonous and gruelling for the employee. The implication
of all this is that it leaves the worker with less and less time for interests, family and
leisure time in general.
It is not uncommon to see people who aspire to have work and personal life in
synchronisation. The work life balance has become the buzzword for the present
generation. Thus in an ideal world, most people would like their output assessed by the
results they achieve at work and not by the hours they spend slaying away at their desk.
Thus, in turn, would leave them free to pursue their personal interests outside work. Only
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a handful of employees have understood this intrinsic desire of employees and have
turned it into a competitive advantage. Occupational Psychology assumes a key role as it
contributes to work models but also with the thorough study of factors underlying the
work/life balance. The study of work and family life is a relatively recent field. They
argue out a case for alternative work models.
Workplace flexibility is increasingly becoming important both for the employers

as well as the employees. A good fit between people’s personal and work roles can go a
long way in resolving conflicts. In fact researchers claim that by helping to manage
employee’s work/life conflicts the company actually increases “psychological availability
for work” of an employee. This is at least true of some learning organisations that are
open to such novel HR practices. They look at flexible work arrangements as an
opportunity for more efficient recruitment, decrease in staff turnover and absenteeism.
Very importantly it helps them to project an improved corporate image.
Occupational psychology conducted in UK points out that managers feel to be

working unjustifiably long hours and to be pushing their staff too hard. Only a relatively
small percentage felt reasonably sure that they have indicated their preference for more
flexible working hours. Nearly half perceived increased difficulties in balancing their
work and personal life and well over half said pressure to perform at work left them less
and less time for their personal life, making them feel that they are missing out. The
analysis of this research data was descriptive and no attempts were made to analyse any
traits underlying the work/life balance. There are two important issues to be looked at.
They are:
 Two distinct factors underlying the work/life balance. One is related to the general
status quo of the workplace and the other one to attitudes held by the individual.
 That these factors would correlate with other variables, such as commitment, gender
or age.
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It is instinctive human desire to secure oneself in material comforts in the early

phase of life to enjoy good quality of life at a later point in the life span. The point that
many do not realise is that life is not so compartmentalised that one can do the activities
in a sequential order – one after the other. Life is a bundle that contains all the strands
together and hence the need to balance work life and other related issues. There is
nothing wrong in having career ambitions. We all have a deep human hunger to create
something great through the work we do and shine in our chosen profession.
One important dimension is the relationship balance. Many of us rationalise by

rationing “quality time” for the family. Fact of the matter is that we tend to perceive that
the time spent with family should be qualitatively superior and quantity doesn’t matter.
One must go the extra mile and ensure that the right quantity of time is provided for the
bonds of trust and love to grow. Children, in particular, believe that the more time you
spend with them reflects how much you love them. It is said laughter is the shortest
distance between two people. The “Relationship Balance” creates a sense of fulfilment
and the synergy spill over positively in all of the other areas of your life. The warmth and
love on the home front enables a person to focus intensively and concentrate fully on the
professional work and achieve high degree of success. The other important dimension is
career balance. Einstein once said that one should be a person of value rather than a
person of success. There is a natural human urge in most of us to have deep sense of
fulfilment through our work lie. Our personal life will be very dull and boring if work life
isn’t exciting and doesn’t offer scope to bring out the dormant talent in us. The urge to do
some commercial activity by creative methods to succeed in the market place and obtain
monetary as well social rewards is inherent in all human beings.
The point of wisdom is simply this: Do not trade-ff the pleasure of living for the
sake of achievement. Instead, joyfully achieve. Balance your commitment to being the
best you can be at work with a deep commitment to being a great family person and
loving friend. Understand that without balance in every core area of your life, you’ll
never find lasting happiness and a sense that you have lived well.
27
3.1 THE HUMAN FACTOR IN REWARDING EMPLOYEES
Seldom have we come across individual who does not respond to appreciation. In
fact, we consider such people as aberrations. Yet, how many of the managers are
sensitive to this issue? Their number is hardly encouraging. Most of them do not consider
it to be a major part of their job today. The work schedules have become stiff with the
increasing demands on productivity and employees are expected to act in a manner that
benefits the company. Resources are thin, budgets tight and in this training is the first
casualty. This implies that an employee has to look within, rather than look up to the
organisation to enhance his/her skills.
The business environment today is characterised by speed and technology.

Personal interface by the managers has been replaced by computer interface. The
minimum personal interaction that a manager has with an employee is devoted to finding
out the business details, and there is hardly any room left for the manager to find out
whether an employee has done an exceptionally good job while carrying out his “task”.
The blessings of technology are a mixed bag.
In his book, Mega Trends, John Naisbett gives an excellent account of the
changing work environment. He says that our work environments become more and more
technical, there will be a greater employee need to become more personal and humane.
He calls this phenomenon high-tech/high-touch. The irony is that all this is happening at
a time when the aspiration of the employees is to have a greater meaning in their lives,
particularly in the context of their job.
The paradox of the situation is that what motivates people most takes so relatively
little to do-just a little time and thoughtfulness for fresher. In a recent research study of
1500 employees conducted by Dr. Gerald Graham, personal congratulations by managers
of employees who do a good job were ranked first among 67 potential incentives
28
evaluated. Second on the list was a personal note for good performance written by the
manager.
Eve information can be rewarding. Numerous studies indicate that open

communication was ranked as the most important reason that the employees reported for
staying with their present jobs. Everyone wants to know “what’s going on?”- Especially,
as it affects them, and merely telling them is motivating. When we ponder over this
aspect, the question that arises is whether is it really that difficult to tell people that?
When it comes to rewards, most managers perceive that the only thing that
motivates their employees is money and more money. While money can be significant
ways of letting employees know their worth to the organisation, it may not always be the
sole sustaining motivational factor to most individuals. In other words, money is
important enough, and yet, may not be the all or end all of employee motivation. More
often than not, non-pecuniary factors may equally motivate employees to do their best on
the job.
The most limiting reason for money to be a motivator is that in most

organisations, performance reviews and corresponding salary increases occur only once
in a year. To motivate employees, performance need to reward the achievements and
progress made towards the goals by employees more frequently. Regular reward-not
necessarily monetary-needs to take place on almost daily basis.
The intangibles matter a great deal to an employee. It may be small yet significant
for the workers that they are being appreciated for the work they’ve done, being kept
informed about things that affect them and have a sympathetic manger who takes time to
listen. None of these intangibles are very costly, but they all do take the time and
thoughtfulness of a manger who tends to be caring. By being a little creative, a manager
can find out what specifically motivates his/her employees and ignites the spark in them.
His/her job is to make those things happen. When one of the employees has put in extra
effort on a key project or achieved a goal that has been mutually set, he/she should
29
recognise the achievement fittingly in a unique and memorable way. Managers will find
that the more creative and unique they are with the reward, the more fun it will be for
both of them. The examples can be only limited by the manager’s imagination. It could
be sending a birthday gift to the employee’s beloved daughter to footing the bill of the
family dinner. The manager can grant employees, who have performed exceptionally
well, a pass for three-day weekend.
Recognition and rewards can be very powerful motivational tools. It is quite

intriguing to realise that a simple and sincere recognition with minimum cost, paperwork
and administration can impact employees in a profound way. At Walt Disney, one of the
company’s 180 recognition programs is called The Spirit of Fred Award, named after an
employee named Fred. When Fred first went from an hourly to a salaried position, five
people taught him the values necessary for success at Disney. This help inspired the
award, in which the name “Fred” became an acronym for friendly, resourceful,
enthusiastic and dependable. First given as a lark, the award has come to be highly
coveted in the organisation.
Rewarding employees for exceptional work they’ve done is critical to keep them
motivated enough to continue their best. Although money is important, a manager can
obtain better employee performance by using personal, creative and amusing forms of
recognition.
30
4.1 Pygmalion Effect
31
[4] QWL THROUGH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT (EI)
One of the most common methods used to create QWL is employee involvement.
Employee involvement (EI) consists of a variety of systematic methods that empower
employees to participate in the decisions that affect them and their relationship with the
organisation. Through (EI), employees feel a sense of responsibility, even “ownership” of
decisions in which they participate. To be successful, however, EI must be more than just
a systematic approach; it must become part of the organisation’s culture by being part of
management’s philosophy. Some companies have had this philosophy ingrained in their
corporate structure for decades; Hewlett-Packard, IBM, General Motors, Ford, etc.
4.1 Pygmalion Effect

The implications for managers and human resource specialists are to create an
organisational culture that truly treats people as though they are experts at their jobs and
empowers them to use that expertise. When management does this, a Pygmalion effect
may result, which occurs when people live up to the high expectations that others have of
them. If management further assumes that people want to contribute and seek ways to tap
that contribution, better decisions, improved productivity and a higher QWL are likely.
32
5.1 Boeing’s ‘Tiger Teams’

5.2 Quality Circles
5.3 Sociotechnical Systems
5.4 Autonomous Work Groups
33
[5] QWL and EI INTERVENTIONS
A wide variety of companies have undertaken interventions to create employee

involvement or improved QWL. Examples include Motorola’s participative management
approach, Boeing’s tiger teams, etc.
5.1 Boeing’s ‘Tiger Teams’
Boeing uses a single-focus task force approach called ‘tiger teams’.

Generally these teams are assembled to solve some production-delaying
problem that the supervisor and employees cannot overcome. Various
approaches to team building share a common underlying philosophy.
Groups of people usually are better at solving problems than an individual.
And even though the “purpose” of these approaches may be to find a
solution, a by-product is improved quality of work life.
5.2 Quality Circles

Quality circles are small groups of employees who meet regularly with their
common leader to identify and solve work-related problems. They are a highly specific
form of team building, which are common in Japan and gained popularity in North
America in the late 1970s and early 1980s. By the 1980s most medium- and large-sized
Japanese firms had quality control circles for hourly employees. This effort began as a
quality improvement program but has since become a routine procedure for many
Japanese managers and a corners tome of QWL efforts in many Japanese firms.
Several characteristics make this approach unique. First, membership in the circle
is voluntary for both the leader (usually the supervisor) and the members (usually hourly
workers). Secondly, the creation of quality circles is usually preceded by in-house
training. For supervisors these sessions typically last for two or three days. Most of the
time is devoted to discussions of small-group dynamics, leadership skills, and
indoctrination in the QWL and quality circle philosophies. About a day is spent on the
different approaches to problem-solving techniques. The workers also receive an
34
explanation of the supervisor’s role as the group’s discussion leader and information on
the quality circle concept. Thirdly, as is pointed out in the training, the group is permitted
to select the problems it wants to tackle. Management may suggest problems of concern,
but the group is empowered to decide which ones to select. Ideally, the selection process
is not by democratic vote but is arrived at by consensus, whereby everyone agrees on the
problem to be tackled. (If management has been pressing problems that need to be
solved, these problems can be handled in the same way that they were resolved before the
introduction of quality circles).
When employees are allowed to select the problems they want to work on, they
are likely to be more motivated to find solutions. And they are also more likely to be
motivated to stay on as members of the circle and solve additional problems in the future.
5.3 Sociotechnical Systems

Another intervention to improve QWL is the use of sociotechnical systems.
Sociotechnical systems are interventions in the work situation that restructure the work,
the work groups, and the relationship between workers and the technologies they use to
do their jobs. More than just enlarging or enriching a job, these approaches may result in
more radical changes in the work environment.
5.4 Autonomous Work Groups

A more common, albeit still rare, approach to employee involvement is the use of
autonomous work groups. These are teams of workers, without a formal company-
appointed leader, who decide among themselves most decisions traditionally handled by
supervisors. The key feature of these groups is a high degree of self-determination by
employees in the management of their day-to-day work. Typically this includes collective
control over the pace of work, distribution of tasks, organisation of breaks, and collective
participation in the recruitment and training of new members. Direct supervision is often
necessary.
35
QWL is more likely to improve as workers demand jobs with more behavioural
elements. These demands will probably emerge from an increasingly diverse and
educated work force that expects more challenges and more autonomy in its jobs – such
as worker participation in decisions traditionally reserved for management.
36
6.1 Employee Communication

6.2 Employee Counselling
6.3 Discipline
37
[6] EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PRACTICES
Beyond structural interventions in the way people work together, virtually

everything the human resource department does impacts employee relations directly or
indirectly. Many activities are largely unnoticed by employees, including, for example,
recruitment, selection, benefits administration and other important functions. Other
activities only affect employees periodically, such as performance and salary review
sessions. However, the department directly impacts individual QWL and employee
involvement through its communications, counselling, and disciplinary practices.
Employee relation activities are shared with supervisors because of the growing
complexity of organisations, laws, and union-management relations. Earlier in this
century, for example, supervisors were solely responsible for employee relation practices
and hiring, which led to unethical practices, such as favouritism and kickbacks to
supervisors. Today, with the need for uniform, legal, and corporation wide approaches,
human resource specialists are given considerable responsibility for employee relations.
The result is a dual responsibility between the department and supervisors. Of course,
supervisors remain responsible for communicating task-related requirements. They are
also responsible for counselling and disciplining their employees, within the guidelines
established by the department. But, when serious problems are uncovered in counselling
or a major disciplinary action is planned, human resource specialists are commonly
involved to ensure fairness and uniformity of treatment.
6.1 Employee Communication

Information is the engine that drives organisations. Information about the
organisation, its environment, its products and services, and its people is essential to
management and workers. Without information, managers cannot make effective
decisions about markets or resources, particularly human resources. Likewise,
insufficient information may cause stress and dissatisfaction among workers. This
universal need for information is met through an organisation’s communication system.
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Communication system provides formal and informal methods to move information

through an organisation so that appropriate decisions can be made.
All organisations have human resource communication systems. Most

organisations use a blend of formal, systematically designed communication efforts and
informal, ad hoc arrangements. For convenience, most of these approaches can be
divided into downward communication systems, which exist to get information to
employees, and upward communication systems, which exist to get information from
employees.
Grapevine communication is an informal system that arises spontaneously from

the social interaction of people in the organisation it is the people-to-people system that
arises naturally from the human desire to make friends and share ideas. The human
resource department has an interest in the grapevine because it provides useful, off-the-
record feedback from employees, if human resource specialists are prepared to listen,
understand, and interpret the information.
In-house complaint procedures are formal methods through which an employee

can register a complaint. These procedures are normally operated by the human resource
department and require the employee to submit the complaint in writing. Then an
employee relation specialist investigates the complaint and advises its author of the
results.
Rap sessions are meetings between managers and groups of employees to discuss
complaints, suggestions, opinions or questions. These meetings may begin with some
information sharing by management to tell the group about developments in the
company. However, the primary purpose is to encourage upward communication, often
with several levels of employees and lower-level management in attendance at the same
time. When these meetings are face-to-face informal discussions between a higher-level
manager and rank-and-file workers, the process may be called deep-sensing if it attempts
to probe in some depth the issues that are on the minds of employees. These sessions also
39
are called vertical staffing meetings because they put higher-level managers directly in
touch with employees. Constructive suggestions sometimes emerge from these meetings.
Suggestion systems are a formal method for generating, evaluating and

implementing employee ideas. This method is likely to succeed if management provides
prompt and fair evaluations, if supervisors are trained to encourage employee
suggestions, and if top management actively supports the program. Unfortunately,
evaluations often take months to process or supervisors see suggestions as too much work
for them with few personal benefits. As a result, many company suggestion plans exist on
paper but are not very effective.
Attitude surveys are systematic methods of determining what employees think

about their organisation. These surveys may be conducted through face-to-face
interviews, but they are usually done through anonymous questionnaires. An attitude
survey typically seeks to learn what employees think about working conditions,
supervision and personnel policies. Questions about new programs or special concerns to
management may also be asked. The resulting information can be used to evaluate
specific concerns, such as how individual managers are perceived by their employees.
40
6.2 Employee Counselling

Counselling is the discussion of a problem with an employee, with the general
objective of helping the worker either resolve or cope with it. Stress and personal
problems are likely to affect both performance and an employee’s general life
adjustment; therefore, it is in the best interests of all those concerned to help the
employee return to full effectiveness. Counselling is a useful tool to help
accomplish this goal. The success rate counselling program often is substantial.
Counselling is strictly a confidential relationship, and records of it should be

restricted to persons directly involved in solving the counselling problem. These
practices are necessary to protect employee privacy and to protect the employer
from possible lawsuits for liabilities such as invasion of privacy or alleged
slander. The policy of some firms is to refer all martial and family counselling to
community agencies. These companies believe that, for reasons of employee
privacy, they should not be involved in these problems. Employers also must be
certain that their counselling programs comply with EEO regulations by providing
equal counselling services to all protected employee groups.
6.3 Discipline
Counselling does not always work. Sometimes the employee’s behaviour is
inappropriately disruptive or performance is unacceptable. Under these circumstances,
discipline is needed. Discipline is management action to encourage compliance with
organisational standards. There are two types of discipline:
(1) Preventive Discipline (2) Corrective Discipline
Preventive discipline is action taken to encourage employees to follow standards and
rules so that infractions are prevented. The basic objective is to encourage self-discipline,
and the human resource department plays an important role. For example, it develops
programs to control absences and grievances. It communicates standards to employees
and encourages workers to follow them. And it encourages employee participation in
setting standards, since workers will give better support to rules that they have helped
create. Employees also will give more support to standards stated positively instead of
41
negatively, such as “Safety first!” rather than “Don’t be careless!” effective discipline is a
system relationship and the department needs to be concerned with all parts of the
system.
Corrective discipline is an action that follows a rule infraction. It seeks to

discourage further infractions and to ensure future compliance with standards. Typically
the corrective or disciplinary action is a penalty, such as a warning or suspension without
pay. These actions are usually initiated by an employee’s immediate supervisor but may
require approval by a higher-level manager or the human resource department. Approvals
exist to guard against subsequent labour union or legal actions and to assure uniform
application of rules throughout the organisation. Any appeals. Then go to higher levels in
the company and I the union hierarchy.
7.1 Problems Galore
42
7.2 The Right Approach
[7] EMPLOYEE HEALTH IS COMPANY’S WEALTH
A glance at various organisational websites and annual reports reveal that lack of
a comprehensive health plan for the employees has resulted in indirect, recurring losses
for companies.
In a Canadian government study, the Canada Life Assurance Company

experimental group realised a four per cent increase in productivity after starting an
employee fitness program. Further, 47 per cent of programme participants reported that
they felt more alert, had better rapport with their co-workers, and generally enjoyed their
work more.
Swedish investigators found that mental performance was significantly better in

physically fit workers than in non-fit workers. Fit workers committed 27 per cent fewer
errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory, as compared with the
performance of non-fit workers.
43
Studies by various US and UK-based medical research institutes have shown that
80-90 per cent of people of any age, gender, physical fitness and profession who use a
computer regularly are likely to suffer from vision and health problems.
Another study conducted by Department of Human Factors Engineering,

University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, showed that visual strain
occurred after 60 minutes of video display terminal (VCD) task.
A close look at these only supports the fact that a sizeable portion of employees
suffer from health problems that are mostly work generated and that well-planned,
comprehensive health promotion programmes can help in reducing such ailments. This
would in turn pave the way for rise in overall productivity.
However, corporate have hardly realised the existence of this silent troublemaker,
leave alone assessing the magnitude of the problem. Hence, they continue to extract more
work hours which results in a stressed life-style for employees.
“While at first, corporations may appear to benefit from workers’ added effort
during long, stress-filled days, rising health care premiums may show otherwise. One
study based on the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial, for instance, showed men
who skipped their annual vacation were more likely to die from coronary heart disease
than were couch potatoes or smokers who do get away for a little annual rest and
relaxation,” wrote Wendy D Lynch in Business Health about the American work
scenario.
The scene back home is also not good. Taking cue from the workaholic West born
companies, Indian corporate houses too can be seen flooded with over-stressed
employees trying to attain strength from their cups of coffee and puffs of cigarettes.
Many employees report for work on time and work for unlimited hours that the company
stands to earn more if employees put in additional work hours are only a myth.
44
7.1 Problems Galore

Poor eyesight, spondylitis, discomfort, fatigue, tension, depression, irritability and
obesity are only a few of the problems. Lack of care can lead to long-term ailments,
wherein not only the person concerned, but his entire family has to suffer.
Another problem that has a direct implication on the employee’s psyche is lack of
a feeling of belonging to his/her organisation. “There is much more an employee expects
from his organisation, beyond a work-salary relationship. A sense of attachment to his
company is very important,” opine employees by and large.
Agrees Prof B M Hedge, Vice-Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher

Education, “Japan has the lowest rate of heart attacks in the world. One of the reasons is
the absence of differences between the boss and workers. So a sense of belonging helps!
Health education programmes improves overall productivity and quality of
employees. “Companies might do a lot for the medical care of employees, but precious
little for preventive healthcare,” says Dr Prathap Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals
Group, stressing on the importance of preventive healthcare for diseases like cancer and
heart attack.
7.2 The Right Approach

“Most human resources managers and corporate directors intuitively understand
that neither the sleep-deprived employee nor her caffeine-powered manager who hasn’t
taken a day off in three years is working at peak capacity. But what is “peak?” Lacking a
definition, Americans have fallen into the “more is better” rut, with untold implications
for their health,” says Lynch.
So its high-time employers actually wake up and realise the fact that more work-
hours need not necessarily mean more output. To maintain that, they need to adopt their
employees’ well-being as a business strategy. “It is very important to allocate not only an
appropriate budget for the company’s healthcare plan. With an appropriate budget for the
45
company’s healthcare activities in place, it is also imperative that a professional set-up

and approach be followed for the implementation of the same. In other words, the
healthcare vision must be total - promotive, preventive and curative,” says Captain Dr
Rakesh Dullu, deputy manager health and medical services, Hero Honda.
“At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that if we are able to take
care of the families’ health too, we are actually reducing the stress of the employees and
can expect better productivity and quality from them,” he adds. But according to the
current scenario there are only countable organisations that have any health plans for
their employees’ families. Out of a plethora of services that can or should be provided,
most companies are happy providing medical reimbursement of a few hundred rupees to
their employees. Ideally, the focus should be on prevention rather than cure.
Small things like low-fat balanced meals in cafeterias and occasional serving of
fresh fruits or juices can go a long way in helping the workers maintain a healthy mind
and body. However, this is not the least a company can do. Considering the long working
hours, die hard competition and mounting pressure, experts suggest a few “must haves”
for any organisation:
Health plans: Even though health insurance has not established a foothold in
India, companies must ensure that its employees get an insurance coverage. Hero Honda,
for instance has an understanding with some Gurgaon-based hospitals where, depending
on the availability of specialised doctors, employees are sent for treatment. All employees
in the company are covered under the National Insurance scheme. “We have our own
parameters for selecting a hospital and we are constantly in touch with the doctors there,”
says Dr Dullu.
Morepen 3H makes use of its team of doctors for its employees too. “Though we
do not have any structured approach, our team of 8 doctors and mobile clinics are always
46
there for basic routine check-ups,” informs Atul Gandotra, Vice-President, marketing and
sales, 3H Morepen.
While the senior staffs are medically insured, a reimbursement of Rs 600 is given to
junior employees.
Visiting doctor: Right advice at the right time saves both time and money. A
good doctor not only prescribes medicines but also counsels his patients to a state of
wellness. Many ailments like back pains, etc. which go unattended till the time they don’t
start disrupting the day to day work (and hence work output) can be resolved in the very
start.
Sports events or recreation: Such activities do not give a break from work but
also help in re-energising the mind. In short, they keep one’s mind and body fit.
Health club facilities/ Gym: Most big companies like GE, LG, Infosys etc.
have a well-equipped gym for their employees. Such a facility not only helps a person
keep fit, but also serves as a de-stressing factor.
Right infrastructure: Ergonomics of the furniture, user-friendly computers,

right air-conditioning and amount of light, height of roof, space around the work area, are
all factors that affect the health and therefore the productivity of an individual.
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8.1 Shifts in Societal Patterns

8.2 Technological Breakthroughs
8.3 New Horizon of Expectations
48
8.4 Creating Institutional Support Mechanisms

8.5 Providing Managerial Support
8.6 Practising What You Preach
8.7 Sustain It
8.8 Reducing absenteeism
8.9 Improving the quality of people's working lives
8.10 Matching people who wouldn’t otherwise work with jobs
8.11 Benefiting families and communities
8.12 How can work-life balance help improve our health and safety?
[8] BALANCING THE WORK AND LIFE OF YOUR

EMPLOYEES
Researches indicate that balanced work-life can lead to greater employee

productivity. With the progressive shift of the economy towards a knowledge economy,
the meaning and Importance of tile quality of work life is also assuming a new
significance. The article details the factor$ that should be tuned to attain balance between
work and life of an employee.
You must have both love and work in your life to make you healthy. Don't you
agree? Well, this is what Sigmund Freud had said decades ago for healthy workers.
Family is an essential ingredient for the love that exists in the life of the employees. But
are the corporates structuring the work patterns so as to ensure the necessary balances?
Are the corporates providing opportunities to their employees to spend quality time in
49
their personal lives? Many researchers indicate that maintaining a good balance in work
and life has become a priority for the corporates in the developed nations.
At the dawn of industrialisation, the needs and priorities of employees were at

the lower end of Maslow’s need hierarchy pyramid. The priority was given more to
physical and material security. However, with rapid cultural and economic
developments, the priorities outside job became very different. Employees started
looking for higher and meaningful quality of life as a result of the outcomes of their
work. After all, what are they working for? A good happy and a decent life.
With the increasing shift of the economy towards knowledge economy, the
meaning and importance of the quality of work life is also assuming a new significance.
Today, the connotation of the term 'work' has also become different. It has more to do
with the intellectual exercise than physical labour. As a result, the corporates need to
streamline and restructure their work schedules in order to bring about a balance in work
life of their employees. Understanding and managing the levels and complexities of
diverse motivational needs is another area, which requires careful attention from the
corporates to bring about work-life balance.
Let us now look at the factors that have created the need for maintaining work life
balance.
Various researchers have pointed out the following.
8.1 Shifts in Societal Patterns

Gone are the days of joint families where you had to care for elders and they, in
turn, had to nurture your emotions. Today's nuclear families with both the partners
working, have created new dynamics that has become emotionally demanding to the
employees. Financial and social obligations have assumed a different level of
significance today. Not only this, the needs of organisations today have also changed.
Money is getting accumulated in tiny pockets, among those sections of people who
50
possess the ‘most wanted’ knowledge. And these so-called ‘knowledge workers’ are the
ones who are in acute need to balancing their work and life.
8.2 Technological Breakthroughs

Tremendous progress in the fields of information technology and communication
system has changed our worldview. At the same time, it demands more from today’s
employees. Strict deadlines, tighter schedules and ever-escalating corporate targets are
the natural outcome of it.
8.3 New Horizon of Expectations

Due to the above reasons there has been a total shift in the level of expectations
for today’s employees. In fact, in the book Geeks and Geezers, Thomas and Bennis
explain how attitudes towards work and life balance varies from generation to generation.
Baby boomers are no longer ready to give their lives to the company they work for.
Whereas the Generation X’s and Y’s are more committed to meet the demands of both
work and family life. In turn, they seek a newly defined and restructured way of getting
jobs assigned to them.
Researchers have pointed out that a balance between work and life is maintained
when there is no conflict between work and family demands. Though this seems to be
idealistic situation, what the corporates need to remember is that the conflicts should not
reach unacceptable levels where it would tend to affect the productivity of the employee.
According to 1998 America @ Work (SM) study conducted by Aon Consulting
Worldwide Inc., an HR consulting firm based in Chicago, the employees of today put
their commitment to organisations they work for only if the management recognises the
importance of their personal and family life.
Striking a balance between work and life is as difficult for the corporates as it is
for the employees. However, the onus of maintaining this is more on the corporates
because, as pointed out by the famous Hawthorne Experiment, the world of individuals
primarily centres on their place of work. So a careful perusal of the working patterns and
scheduling of jobs will be one of the first steps in designing work schedule that can
51
balance life and work. The HR managers, along with the functional heads and line
mangers, should try to bring in flexibility to the working patterns within the
organisations. A trade off between organisational needs and personal needs of the
employees has to be worked out. Following are some of the ways in which it cane be
done. Though this is in no way an exhaustive list, yet it does provide a starting point for
corporates to develop flexible work schedules that can balance work and life.
8.4 Creating Institutional Support Mechanisms

The first and the foremost requirement is to create conditions that will provide
organisational support towards maintaining the flexibility of work and life of the
employees. These entail the propagation of the culture of work flexibility, HR policies
and other organisational regulations that allow the employees to maintain a good mix of
personal lives with their career.
There is a need to clearly chalk out the connection between maintaining this
flexibility and the corporate objectives. For instance, managers at Eli Lilly begin their
job in the company with a clear understanding of what the company expects. They
undergo a weeklong program, called Supervisor School that blends the business case for
work life initiatives. Thus, the management ensures that the flexibility in work is linked
with the objectives of the organisation. But this is not enough. What is needed is to
ensure and communicate the support of the senior management. The top management of
the company must clearly communicate its eagerness and willingness to restructure the
work schedules in such a manner that it can balance the work and life of the employees.
This will require clear articulation from the company that it values the personal lives of
its employees. The employees must understand that their organisation also keeps in mind
the value of their life and personal relationship. Such articulation can be done through
the company’s vision and mission statements.
8.5 Providing Managerial Support

Only lip service towards work life balance will not suffice. Organisations must
make sure that there are proper organisational systems of work design that allows
52
employees to have flexible time. This may even require a new look towards HR manual,
which the organisation may have.
It is also necessary to evaluate such systems of flexibility from time to time.

Otherwise, stagnancy will creep into the work schedules, which might create new
dimensions of the problem in the work life patterns. To keep pace with the changing
patterns of work and life of employees, the organisations can arrange special training
programs that will inform the employees about the new working trends. This can be done
through sharing successful models of work schedules and real life case studies.
8.6 Practising What You Preach

Above all, the organisations need to execute their flexible work schedules.
Flexible work patterns must become a part of organisational initiatives. This will require
the creation of a networked environment that can provide a ‘back up’ system to support
work relationship. Essentially this will require employees to become cross functional, so
that a temporary emergency or a shortfall in one department can be met by other
departments. Thus, the role of HR department needs to be revisited and made more
expansive and supportive towards organisational and individual needs.
8.7 Sustain It
Once the organisation follows and internalises the practice of flexible work
schedules for its employees, it is very necessary that it sustains it over a long period of
time. Such sustainability can e brought about by clear demarcations of accountability and
means to measure it. In other words, the focus and purpose of creating balanced work life
should be maintained at any cost. This will also call for review and evaluation of the
current work environment and make modifications in the schedules accordingly.
Several researchers have shown that a balanced work-life creates greater

employee productivity. What important is the long-term and not the short-term, which
seems to become the focus of many organisations. So, though it may apparently seem
53
that employees are having more leisure, the effect of a balanced work-life will show up
positively in the bottom line of the company.
Benefits of improving work-life balance

Aiding employee recruitment and retention
 More employees may stay on in a job, return after a break or take a job with one
company over another if they can match their other needs better with those of their
paid work.
 This results in savings for the employer – avoiding the cost of losing an experienced
worker and recruiting someone new.
 The British Work-Life Balance Study 2000, including a representative survey of 2500
workplaces, found that 58 per cent of employers thought that work-life balance
practices had improved staff motivation and commitment, and 52 per cent thought
labour turnover and absenteeism were lower, and that they helped retain female
employees. The Australian 2002 Benchmarking Study found that organisations
implementing work-life strategies and evaluating them observed reduced turnover,
absenteeism, and increased return from parental leave.
 Employers who support their staff in this way often gain the bonus of loyalty from
those staff.
8.8 Reducing absenteeism

 Many companies that have introduced family-friendly or flexible working practices
have seen benefits through reductions in absenteeism. Sickness rates may fall as
pressures are managed better, while employees may have better methods of dealing
with work-life conflicts than taking unplanned leave.
 Workers (including their managers) who are healthy and not over-stressed may be
more efficient.
54
8.9 Improving the quality of people's working lives

 Minimising work-life role conflict can help prevent role overload and help people
have a more satisfying working life, fulfilling their potential both in paid work and
outside it.
 Work life balance can minimise stress and fatigue at work, enabling people to have
safer and healthier working lives. Workplace stress and fatigue can contribute to
injuries at work and at home.
 Self-employed people control their own work time to some extent. Most existing
information on work-life balance is targeted at those in employment relationships.
However, the self-employed too may benefit from maintaining healthy work habits
and developing strategies to manage work-flows which enable them to balance work
with other roles in their lives.
8.10 Matching people who wouldn’t otherwise work with jobs

 Parents and carers, people with disabilities and those nearing retirement are among
those who may increase their workforce participation if more flexible work
arrangements are possible. Employment has positive individual and social benefits
beyond the financial rewards.
 Employers may also benefit from a wider pool of talent to draw from – this is
particularly to their benefit when skill shortages exist.
 The Baseline Study of Work-Life Balance Practices in Great Britain found that there
was strong demand amongst lone parents, carers and disabled people for flexible
working time arrangements.
8.11 Benefiting families and communities

o In a situation of conflict between work and family, one or other suffers. Overseas
studies have found that family life can interfere with paid work, and the reverse. At
the extreme, if family life suffers this may have wider social costs.
o Involvement in community, cultural, sporting or other activities can be a benefit to
community and civil society at large. For instance, voluntary participation in school
55
boards of trustees can contribute to the quality of our children's education. While such
activities are not the responsibility of individual employers, they may choose to
support them actively, since community activities can demonstrate good corporate
citizenship, as well as helping develop workers' skills which can be applied to the
workplace.
8.12 How can work-life balance help improve our health and safety?
Part of achieving good work / life balance is ensuring work does not negatively
impact on people's lives outside of work and their mental and physical health. There is
particular potential for work-place stress and fatigue to spill over into the private sphere,
as well as vice versa.
Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, employers are responsible
for controlling or eliminating hazards, which might cause injury or occupational illness.
Stress and fatigue are implicitly included in this.
56
9.1 Right State of Mind

9.2 Physical Fitness
9.3 Exercise Control on Time
9.4 Cultivate ‘Hope’ – The Vital Spark of Life
9.5 Build Network of Friends
9.6 The changing workplace
[9] WANNA BE HAPPY AT WORKPLACE?
“I always seen to be feeling either superior or inferior, one upon or one

down, better off or worse off then everyone else. The superior moments are elating,
but the are and blessed moments are when I feel equal.” – Hugh Prather
A man has to clearly understand that he and his office are two different things.
There is a need to strike a healthy balance between the two. Ultimately, it is the harmony
57
accomplished between these two by mustering whatever skills required thereof that
defines one’s quality of life.
Quite often we end up thinking “I would be happy if ……..” or I will be happy

when ……?How often have we felt calm, content and quite satisfied but suddenly plunge
into fear anger or despair when something happens against our wish or did not happen as
wished for. Yet, other times we convince ourselves that we will be happy when we get
the much waited for promotion or achieve some other goal. But when the goal is
achieved, there are always others to fill the vacancy made by the fulfilled wish, making
happiness always a distant dream.
As against these wishes, the reality is simply different. Sometimes the much
sought after promotions may fail to materialise; dates may broke; jobs may be lost, and
relationships may evaporate. This dilemma posits a question: If we know things can and
will go wrong why do we still put off being happy? Why a chance remark by a colleague
at workplace should send us into a depression? Now the moot question is, is it possible
to live in this world with the all pervading trauma, injustice, etc., and not be affected by it
at all? Is there a way to sustain happiness all through life, be it in office or at home?
Yes, there is a way out: One has to accept that things can and will go wrong and
the world is not designed to go out way; it has its own unique way. This acceptance can
alone enable one to face the realities with humour, flexibility and serenity leading to
happiness, no matter what happens. Simply put, it is ones own attitude and work habits
that define happiness. Secondly, one needs to imbibe the spirit of the Vedic chanting:
O citizens of the world! Live in harmony and concord.

Be Organised and co-operative.
Speak with one voice and make your resolutions.
With one mind.
58
An ardent practising of this principle at workplaces shall not only bring in the much
desired ‘balance’ between the demands of work life and personal life but also shall
generate ‘harmony’ among the colleagues, peers and superiors at the workplaces. To
make this philosophy of life workable, it is essential that “our inward thoughts confirm to
outward actions”. Obvious requirement is then to cultivate a set of attitudes that foster
“an intense joy throughout life”.
The following are some of the cultivable attitudes:
9.1 Right State of Mind

No one is born happy. As Erich Fromm said, happiness is not a gift of gods. It is
achieved out of one’s own inner productiveness. He, who executes his role just as a child
plays a game for the sake of play, enjoys the best of both the worlds. Unfortunately, as
we grow older and wiser, it is reported that we often loose that ‘imagination’ with which
a child is often found transforming commonplaces into the priceless. We also often
watch children ‘being alive to the moment’ and display a fresh quality of freedom, of
“letting themselves go”. They perhaps instinctively realise that happiness is more when
one is being spontaneous. An adult should, therefore, cultivate that ‘spontaneity’ and an
air of freshness charged with a gay abandon of rigidity to just enjoy the work.
According to Aristotle, it is the people who, endowed with self-sufficiency,

unweariedness and capacity for rest, by using intellect, find happiness in every act of
them. “Every normal function of life holds some delight”, and historian, William Durant.
It is those people who cultivate a liking for themselves, of course for true reasons, who
succeed in being happy or delighted by even mundane events in daily life. It is often
those unhappy people who never held themselves responsible for their condition; instead
blame their jobs, marriages, or the cruelty of fate. Such people will have no warmth to
give either at work or at home, and are destined to be sterile and confused. To overcome
these frailties, one needs to achieve a fair measure of harmony with himself and his
59
family circle. The quintessential of being in harmony with oneself is the “affection and
understanding of the family”.
It is possible for all of us to sharpen our wits to observe man and nature and
realise that the seat of happiness rests in the unique strength and beauty within all living
things. A frame of mind of “all in one and one in all” shall therefore pave the way for
happiness. And that is what even out heritage preaches:
Behave with others as you would with yourself.

Look upon all the living beings as your bosom friends, for in all of
them there resides one soul.
All are but a part of that universal soul.
A person who believes that all are his soul-mates and loves them all
alike, never feel lonely.
Let us never ever resort to air feverish, selfish clod of ailments and grievances and
thereby put off living happily today. Instead, cultivate a right frame of mind that
explores one’s potential fully to attain quality of life. Purity of mind in thought, word
and action is a step in the direction of achieving excellence at work. Such a mind-set
spontaneously gives rise to ‘shraddha’ (devotion) that is indispensable to achieve any
success, of which ‘quality of life’ is a natural follower.
9.2 Physical Fitness
Good health is the source of happiness. As the body and mind are correlated, ill
health can lead to mental disturbances and even depression. This can, in turn, disable a
person from pursuing personal goals. Our scriptures say, “The body is the means for the
pursuit of religion”. Poor health not only causes tension to the person concerned but also
disturbs the whole family. But in today’s age of speed, feat and tension man in his rush
has lost sight of the importance of his health.
60
Sound health enables a person to concentrate on his work and perform his duties
efficiently. Therefore, development of sound health is sin quo none to protect one’s own
self-interest and in turn improve the quality of life. Good habits such as timely food,
sleep, exercise, and work play a vital part in maintaining sound health. Over indulgence
in sensual pleasures deprives one from staying focused on a target and accomplishing it.
Exercise raises levels of endorphins that are known to cause a feel of euphoria. It
also generates a feeling of well-being that gives a boost to productivity. Exercise enables
a man to think fast. It also bolsters energy that in turn can elevate one’s productivity.
We all need to earn to like the work that most of us undertake for a living. A
person who does not like work encounters a monotonous repetition of unpleasant
emotions at workplace and this may lead to emotionally induced illness. On the other
hand, if a person likes a job and feels pleased with his output, he will experience pleasant
emotions. It should, therefore, be realised that liking work is a good theraphy against
emotional ills.
9.3 Exercise Control on Time

Psychologists often complain that most of the people take a random walk through
life, moving without getting anywhere. Yet, some of the world’s busiest executives are
able to develop rewarding careers whole making time available for the family and leisure
activities. If one examines their lifestyle, one can easily pick-up the following tips to
manage time effectively, gainfully and meaningfully too.
Psychologists report that normal body temperatures vary by around 3 degrees

during the day and it increases or decreases the working efficiency proportionately.
People tend to be most alert in late morning and mid-evening whole afternoons are
known to be sleepy. It is these high-efficiency hours that are frequently used by
successful executives to tackle difficult jobs. Many also use the said periods for creating
thinking or creative pursuits while allocating low-efficiency times for less important
works such as news paper reading, to take a peep at the day’s mail, etc.
61
As we do not venture to drive to an unfamiliar place without a road map, it saves

a lot of time, besides increasing efficiency levels to scribble works to be executed on each
new day. The listed works that include both work-related and household tasks can then be
ranked into the most urgent or important and placed under A, less important under B, and
least vital under C. such an exercise paves way for their easy execution.
Much of the time at workplace is reported to be lost in attending every drop-in

into the office. One way of managing the unexpected drop-ins is to schedule such
meetings during the efficiency period. Similarly, telephone is one aid that steals a lot of
time that, too, without being realised by the user. It is desirable to jot down on a piece of
paper before making a call and then stay on track to complete the conversation well in
time.
One should always remember that making the best use of time does not mean
pushing oneself relentlessly. There are certain executives who prefer to take a break or
catnap to get re-energised. Similarly, some prefer to take a few minutes relaxation with
alternate shallow and deep breathing. Breaking up of one’s routine once in a while
certainly helps one to work faster and better. Well managed day leads to stress-free
execution of work and then adds quality to life.
9.4 Cultivate ‘Hope’ – The Vital Spark of Life
Martin Luther King said that everything that is done in the world is done by hope.
Indeed as Samuel Johnson said, hope is perhaps, the chief happiness that this world
affords. In fact, no one can survive without it. It is the sole force behind mankind’s
dreaming, planning and its very existence. As the old axiom says a merry heart doeth
good like medicine.
62
After all, life is a contest of light against darkness, joy against despair. Yet, all of
us do hope, most of the times, for it is perhaps natural to man. Hope is as natural to
mankind as sprouting is for seeds. Every morning is anew beginning and most of us
spring out of the bed dreaming for a pretty day. Hope is written large on earth and sky
and all that breathe. Hope, though natural and vital for mankind, could well get
exhausted, as our lives grow. And that is where we need to gain hope by ‘hoping for the
moment’. This necessitates that one has to summon hope and learn to look forward to the
beauty of the next moment, the next hour, the promise of a good meal, a rise in a pay
cheque, etc. Hope is a frame of mind or a climate of heart that helps nurse a positive
orientation towards work or life. Such a positive orientation transforms the given labour
into an entity of love and to that extent performance stands enhanced. It alone enables
one to execute a given task excellency. It is often noticed that the average people
strengthened by faith do perform extraordinary deeds. That is why, one has to fondly
summon ‘hope’ to “lead us from triumph in the long journey of life”.
9.5 Build Network of Friends
A study carried out in the West sometime back revealed that lucky people are
those who have many friends and acquaintances. The study also revealed that many of
the job offers have mostly materialised out of these acquaintances. These lucky people
are reported to be gregarious and go out of their way in making friendships.
These people have a natural flair to initiate friendly contacts by making use of
their facial expressions, body positions, voice tones, choicest words, eye contacts, etc., in
right proportions and build excellent network of friends. They can easily slip into
conversation with a stranger in the next seat in a plane and can converse with him as
though they knew the other man since ages.
These traits can easily be cultivated anyone to build a network of friends. Bigger
the web of friendly contacts, more the opportunities that one can avail of. A big network
63
of friends affords a sense of social security besides enriching one’s life. Incidentally,
cheerful conversation is also important in family life for it can keep many of the neurotic
illnesses at distance. A person who could build up a fine network of friends can obviously
make the family meal a recitation of joy and delight.
9.6 The changing workplace

It is often said that the days of life-long employment and corporate career ladders
are gone. Many people feel their jobs are less secure than in the past. But is that right?
The international research reviewed by the Future of Work project doesn’t always
support these concerns:
 Some groups of workers have suffered a drop in job tenure, but long-term
employment relationships appear to be more resilient than you’d expect.
 Non-standard employment (part-time, temporary, casual and self-employed work) is

on the rise, and that trend is likely to continue.
 People’s need for flexibility is one of the key drivers of part-time and self-employed
work.
 However, some temporary and casual workers are more likely to suffer job insecurity,
low pay and poor working conditions.
64
65
TATAS
66
The crowd holds its collective breath as Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar prepares
to strike. But the batsman, B. Muthuraman, is unperturbed. The delivery is sent flying
into the stands. The cheers get louder as the Tata Steel managing director raises his bat in
triumph.
Not real life, but an inspirational film. "It's a part of our Vision 2007 campaign,"
explains Niroop Mahanty, vice president (HRM), Tata Steel. Adds B. N. Sarangi, chief,
HR/IR, Tata Steel, "The idea was to motivate employees to accomplish the impossible,
like hit a six off Shoaib Akhtar." Or achieve EVA positive status by 2007.
The buzz in Jamshedpur is palpable. Tata Steel is not looking at incremental

improvement, but a quantum jump in performance. Unlike its previous attempts, Vision
2007 is not a top-down initiative. More than 8,000 inputs from shop-floor workers and
managers, contributed in articulating the future course for the lowest-cost producer of
steel in the world. Tata Steel's human resources (HR) department further cascaded the
knowledge to all of the company's 40,000 employees.
Assimilation of the vision was of paramount importance. Tata Steel organised one-
day workshops called 'Lakshya 2007 - Ek Chunauti' where employees were encouraged
to write down their main responsibilities. These were then aligned with the departmental,
divisional and company's key performance indices and, finally, with the vision. This
innovative approach has garnered tremendous support from employees. Says Suman
Biswas, Improvement Group, Tata Steel: "The employees felt important as they were
made an integral element of the vision. Our commitment is total."
Tata Steel has been inundated with scores of ideas and suggestions generated at its
employee workshops. It is setting up a centre to implement and even patent the viable
ones, while publicising the names behind them.
Winds of change
67
With globalisation and competition challenging the corporate world, HR

managers can no longer play just the traditional administrative and welfare role. They are
expected to be effective change leaders, working at the centre of each business rather
than at the fringes of the action. Today HR helps define the business case for change, it
communicates a vision of the future, shapes a sound implementation plan, and follows
through to achieve sustained results. Changing times call for different and innovative
strategies — and a catalyst called technology.
With footprints in various geographies, IT leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

created systems for managing the future. The need was to deploy employees in a
seamless and integrated manner. The innovative solution it engineered to meet these
challenges is called Ultimatix. Designed in-house, it digitised the whole organisation in
real time through the web. Every single employee was connected through this platform
across the globe. Ultimatix has also been successful in cutting through layers of decision-
making within TCS.
"Ultimatix has become our single employee-service window," says S.

Padamnabhan, executive vice president and head - Global HRD, TCS. "It has ensured
that employees get their services without much difficulty. They can log in with their
claims, loans or even leave applications for processing. All approvals are done online. To
that extent, we are a paperless organisation."
To a population that is highly mobile, virtual HR is a godsend. With deployment

being a challenge to companies with the size and spread of TCS, it is a major time saver.
Besides its HR policies, the organisation has taken its appraisals and employee
satisfaction surveys online. It does not end here. The survey findings, along with
implemented suggestions, are also posted online. Rising employee satisfaction scores
endorse the popularity of these initiatives.
Incubating Innovation
68
Every employee possesses the power to innovate. The challenge is to create an

encouraging environment that allows and recognises this, believes Bernand Martyris,
senior VP (HR), Indian Hotels. This is one of the key elements of the company's Stars, or
Special Thanks and Recognition Systems, programme. Since its launch three years ago,
the globally acclaimed model has triggered soaring employee satisfaction scores, besides
numerous employee suggestions and innovations, many of which are best practice today.
"Whether it's an indigenously manufactured bathroom mat or a new chemical for

the laundry, every idea is big and shared across the hotel chain," says Mr Martyris. "It has
shattered the myth that only people at the top are creatively inclined." There is a huge
reservoir of innovation waiting to be tapped among all levels of employees.
The success of the earlier programme led Indian Hotels to introduce 'Stars Plus', a
spin-off for its service providers, and 'Joy at the Workplace', which is aimed at team
building and bringing cheer to the office. From celebrating birthdays to organising cricket
matches between the various Taj properties, the objective is to keep employees
motivated. Instead of major initiatives, HR is engaging in small but innovative activities
which might appear mundane but make the employee feel at home while at work.
The Human Factor

HR has also discovered the lost art of listening. Employee satisfaction surveys and
primary mood reflectors within the organisation have become sacred. This helps in
targeting employee irritants and executing policy changes. Also, HR is more transparent
than ever before. Companies are providing direct personal interaction through around-
the-clock telephone or intranet / Internet access. For example, TCS has a HR help desk
where employees can call in with any HR-related questions. Currently operational in
about three to four locations, TCS plans to expand this unique facility to all its centres.
69
Jobs are out, careers are in. And HR is assuming the responsibility for plotting the
career paths and growth of the employees. Most software engineers have a three-point
agenda: globetrotting, annual promotions and acquiring millionaire status. "This is the
base aspiration and we have to address elements of it," says Mr Padmanabhan.
TCS, India's first billion-dollar IT enterprise, offers a host of other tangible and
intangible benefits to transform its employees into world-class professionals. It supports a
rotation policy where employees' discipline is changed every two years, to expose them
to different geographies, projects and technologies. Training and continuing education
programmes are compulsory. Likewise, the Taj draws up an extensive training calendar at
the beginning of the year for its employees.
Knowledge sharing has acquired great significance in the corporate world. Today
most companies allow some level of knowledge sharing through various media. While
most of these programmes are usually aimed at the managerial level, Tata Steel's Aspire
Knowledge Manthan is a rare programme that enables knowledge sharing among
supervisors and workmen. The purpose of this effort is to instil confidence in people and
help them perform better.
Change Agents
Recent economic trends have compelled companies to tighten the belt and adhere
to fiscal responsibility. Companies are returning to improve efficiencies, streamline
processes, make intelligent choices, ensure profitability and strengthen the corporate fibre
in order to be more competitive. Change is crucial. But the Jamshedpur-based Tata
Motors' commercial vehicles division (CVD) has discovered that managing people to
manage change is even more important.
Its department for productivity services has been the change agent to achieve the
70
dual task of employee involvement and waste elimination. Says A. K. Dua, deputy
general manager, Productivity Services, Tata Motors, "We have tried to be innovative in
each of our initiatives."
For instance, the first thing that the team addressed was the need to create
champions and opinion leaders from various divisions within CVD. Under the Total
Productivity Model, the division started using a system under which an individual would
be the owner of a machine. It would be this person's responsibility to improve its
performance and to keep it clean.
"When you deal with people, you deal with emotions. We found that there was a
lot of resistance and even hostility towards this model. Someone pulled out a peg from a
machine to spite the attempt. So four senior managers took up the ownership of one
machine each to set a precedent. They would clean up the machine themselves. Soon, we
have others asking if they can do this too," says Mr Dua.
Even in the area of managing in a lean and mean way the division has tried
attacking the issue from all angles. For instance, in the area of travel not only is each
department keeping track of it's own expenses but a central coordinator has also been
appointed. "He develops economy routes. He has worked out that the expense can be cut
down substantially if people don't stay overnight in Mumbai on their way to Pune. These
may sound like trivial things but they make a big difference," he says.
In order to keep track of each department's performance on productivity the

division has created a single sheet method in which traffic light signals indicate
red, green or yellow. "All 18 divisions are monitored regularly on this basis. If one
is on yellow, it means that it is going slow and may need a push," says Mr Dua.
Catching ‘em Young
71
Tata Motors' FastTrack initiative was launched to nurture leaders from a young
age. Aimed at recognising talented employees, it facilitates early advancement to
challenging and visible assignments through a systematic procedure.
The selection involves a three-stage process: a written test, a 'power' interview and
assessment. Short-listed candidates are required to go through an interview with the
executive directors. Selected candidates gain a huge lead in terms of promotion and
learning. They are relieved from their current jobs and put on various project-based
training programmes under the guidance of senior managers in the company. If the
candidates do not possess management education, they undergo a four-month course at
the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
"Any employee with two years of work experience in the company can apply for
this programme," says V. K. Verma, head, corporate human resources, Tata Motors. "Till
date it has generated more than 60 potential leaders in the company, and they are at least
10-15 years younger than the natural climbers."
After the successful completion of the programme, the candidates are

rotated across departments to acquire general management skills. "In fact, the
programme has performed so well that we are helping duplicate it in other Group
companies, with Tata Chemicals being one of them."
Looking Beyond
Yesterday's innovative practices are routine today. This is true about employee
welfare schemes standard with most corporates. Companies are looking at the workplace
and beyond. The emphasis is on enriching and improving the quality of life. Tata Steel, a
pioneer in employee welfare, is making huge investments in environment and education
in Jamshedpur. Pollution, occupational hazards, safety regulations and health are the
other constants on its plate.
72
Tata Motors' innovative concept of a 'leave bank' has been much appreciated by
its employees. In this scheme, every employee voluntarily donates one day's leave to a
notional bank every year. In return, the employee is entitled to one year of paid or two
years of half-pay leave.
"This helps in the case of any accidents or need for long leave," says Mr Verma. "On
resuming, the employee pays back only 10 per cent of the leave withdrawn." To prevent
the misuse of this facility, two members of the management and union head the leave-
approving committee.
Long working hours, extensive travel and desk-bound jobs skewed the delicate work-life
balance of many a TCSer. Propel came to the rescue. Under this innovative initiative, the
company encouraged the formation of groups with similar interests to come together to
conduct various activities like book reading. Maitree, an initiative for the spouses of
employees, helped in bringing together the families of the employees. This has not only
increased sharing and communication within the company, but has also remarkably
improved the social skills of employees, says Mr Padmanabhan.
Questionnaire on “QUALITY OF WORK LIFE”

Presented by :-
Under the guidance of Prof:-
As a part of T.Y.BMS 5th semester project work – 1, paper of University of Mumbai. This
project work is purely of an academic nature: The information provided here with will be
kept in strict confidence and Used only for Research Purposes.
73
QUESTIONAIRE
Name of the person interviewed: _____________________________ .
Designation :_________________ Age:____________________.
Date:____________________
Q.1 HR = Blessing or evil

ANS:_________________________________________________________________.
Q.2 What qualities do you look for in an employee while selection of an employee?
ANS:___________________________________________________________________
.Q.3 What do you think is the most effective motivator of employees?

ANS : ________________________________________________________________
Q.4 What are the resent trends in HRM?
ANS :__________________________________________________________________.
Q.5 What are the points that are looked while employing people?
ANS : _______________________________________________________________.
Q.6 What do you do to keep in touch with the recent HR developments?
ANS : _______________________________________________________________.
Q.7 What qualities do seek in a B.M.S student to become a successful HRM?
74
ANS :________________________________________________________________.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBLIOGRAPHY
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The challenges of Human Resource Management-Dr Alvin Chan.
2. Strategic Human resource Management- Jeffrey A. Mello, Thomson South

Western 2004.
75
3. Human Resources Management – N.G.Kale and M.Ahmed (Vipul Prakashan)

Seventh Revised Edition.
4. Human Resource and Personnel Management – William Wrether.
 WEBLIOGRAPHY
 www.knowlegestorm.com
 www.change-management.com
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualityofworkinglife
76

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Quality of Work Life.

“QUALITY OF WORK LIFE”

I have undertaken the project on “Quality of Work Life” as a part of the

QWL basically is all about employee involvement, which consists of methods to

This project is a means to appreciate the nitty-gritty involved in employee’s

PART I (Pg. 9-68) Page No.

PART II (Pg. 69-80)

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBLIOGRAPHY 80

[1] WHAT IS QWL?

The term refers to the favourableness or unfavourableness of a total job

Vigorous Domestic and International competition drive organisations to be more

Human resource departments are involved with efforts to improve productivity

1.2 Forces for Change

1.3 Humanised Work through QWL

1.4 Job Enlargement vs. Job Enrichment

Job enrichment takes a different approach by adding additional motivators to a

Difference between job enrichment and job enlargement

Job enrichment Jon enrichment and Higher-order

Routine job Job enlargement Lower-order

Job enrichment brings benefits, as shown in the below figure.

Benefits of job enrichment emerge in three areas

1.5 Applying Job Enrichment

In trying to build motivational factors, management also gives attention to

In one instance a manufacturer set up production in two different ways.

1.6 Core Dimensions: A Job Characteristics Approach

The core dimensions affect an employee’s psychological state, which tends to

1.7 The Human Resource Department’s Role

managers. Sometimes documentation of QWL can result from studies of performance

1.9 Job Satisfaction

1.10 Rewards Satisfaction and Performance

A Reward Performance Model of Motivation

Whether satisfaction is going to be improved depends on whether the rewards

2.1 Strategy and Tactics

[2] QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AS HR STRATEGY –

In the modern scenario, QWL as a strategy of Human Resource Management is

2.1 Strategy and Tactics

Globalisation has lowered national boundaries, creating a knowledge-based

2.2 Men Counted

2.3 Money Matters

2.4 Non economic – ‘Job Security’

To cite some examples, employers in certain software companies have provided

2.6 Boss Factor

2.7 Involvement and Communication

3.1 The human factor in rewarding employees

[3] QUALITY OF WORK LIFE – THE HUMAN

Although traditional work structures seem to be dissolving, this hasn’t necessarily

Workplace flexibility is increasingly becoming important both for the employers

Occupational psychology conducted in UK points out that managers feel to be

It is instinctive human desire to secure oneself in material comforts in the early

One important dimension is the relationship balance. Many of us rationalise by

3.1 THE HUMAN FACTOR IN REWARDING EMPLOYEES

The business environment today is characterised by speed and technology.

Eve information can be rewarding. Numerous studies indicate that open

The most limiting reason for money to be a motivator is that in most

Recognition and rewards can be very powerful motivational tools. It is quite

4.1 Pygmalion Effect

[4] QWL THROUGH EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT (EI)

4.1 Pygmalion Effect

5.1 Boeing’s ‘Tiger Teams’

[5] QWL and EI INTERVENTIONS

A wide variety of companies have undertaken interventions to create employee

5.1 Boeing’s ‘Tiger Teams’